Money Management and Financial Lessons for Grades K-12

It’s important that kids have an understanding of financial literacy early on in order to ensure that they have good (money management) skills as adults. They’ll need to be able to create realistic budgets, manage credit and debt, and save for unexpected expenses if they want to be successful in the future. While learning from trial and error can sometimes be a good thing, when it comes to financial literacy, it’s far better to learn these skills at an early age.

Grades K-5

Elementary-aged students are at a great advantage when it comes to learning about the importance of saving money. During this time, they are starting to learn about math concepts and money math, and they might be able to put these skills into practice by running a lemonade stand or helping with yard sales. Now is the time to start teaching important lessons that will serve them well for a lifetime.

Grades 6-8

Middle-schoolers may have learned the basics about money, but they don’t know a lot of the details about finance and economics. Since they are at the age when they may be asked to take on more responsibility and even start their own babysitting, cleaning, or lawn-mowing business, it’s a great time to instill the importance of hard work and the value of saving money.

Grades 9-12

Even though many high school students have an after-school job or are getting themselves ready for college and a career, the average student still lacks good money management skills. This means they may have little understanding of concepts like earning, spending, saving, and investing. It’s important that students be taught about finance in the classroom to better ensure that they have great financial literacy skills when they are living on their own.